By EDITOR
Payroll records confirm Mary Habila, colleague were on DUFUHS payroll, report says .
Fresh payroll documents have reportedly confirmed that the late Mary Habila and her colleague, Anita Baaki, were employees of the David Umahi Federal University of Health Sciences (DUFUHS), Uburu, Ebonyi State, and received salaries through the Federal Government’s Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS).
The documents, obtained by SaharaReporters, emerged amid continued public scrutiny over the circumstances surrounding Habila’s death at the residence of the Minister of Works, David Umahi, on June 27, 2026.
According to the report, the payroll records list Habila and Baaki as members of staff of the university and indicate that both were paid through the IPPIS platform. Habila was reportedly listed as number 508 with IPPIS number DU2500148, while Baaki appeared as number 474 under the name Baaki Anita Mlumun with IPPIS number DU250044.
The report also stated that both women were among 549 university employees listed without National Housing Fund (NHF) account numbers.The development appears to support earlier claims by unnamed university sources that Habila was employed as a Community Health Extension Worker (CHEW), contrary to previous assertions that she was a physiotherapist.
The sources further alleged that both Habila and Baaki were placed on the university’s payroll through the influence of Minister Umahi, allegations that have not been independently verified.The controversy intensified after the Nigeria Society of Physiotherapy (NSP) announced that Habila’s name was not found on the database of registered physiotherapists following verification through the appropriate regulatory channels.
The NSP’s position contradicted an earlier statement by the Minister’s Senior Special Assistant on Media, Francis Nwaze, who had maintained that Habila and Baaki were physiotherapists employed by DUFUHS and seconded to the Federal Ministry of Works for the past three years.Baaki has since filed a sworn affidavit before the High Court of Ebonyi State, detailing the events leading to Habila’s death.
In the affidavit, she stated that both women had worked under the Minister of Works for about three years and travelled with other members of his staff from Abuja to Ebonyi shortly before the incident.Meanwhile, the Ebonyi State Police Command has maintained that a forensic autopsy is necessary to determine the cause of Habila’s death before her body can be released for burial.
The position, based on legal advice from the state’s Director of Public Prosecutions, has been opposed by Habila’s family, who have repeatedly appealed for the release of her remains without an autopsy.Minister Umahi has denied any wrongdoing and insisted that a comprehensive forensic investigation should be allowed to run its course to establish the circumstances surrounding Habila’s death.
Police investigations into the incident are ongoing.